Having been back in the riding for two weeks, specifically seeking input on two different occasions from workers' groups, the people in my area continue to support regional rates. Certainly, with no disrespect to Monsieur Lessard and Monsieur Godin, whose opinions on the EI file I value greatly, a caring government tries to help those who need help.
I guess the ultimate goal is to have everybody engaged in the workforce and everybody contributing to the economy of the nation. That's the ultimate goal. I think the country has come quite a way in the last number of years in that regard.
But there still exists the reality that some Canadians do need help at times. There is also the understanding that most Canadians who are doing all right are willing to help contribute to the greater good, to the greater benefit of other Canadians. We see it in our bracketed income tax system, where those who are making more money or are doing better contribute more, to the benefit and greater good of the people.
We can apply the same principle here with the regional rates, so that in rural areas, whether they are coastal or northern or remote, wherever they might be, where it's more difficult to seize those job opportunities, for the benefit of the overall program and the sustainability of the overall program, the regional rates are still essential.
We had a change, with the unemployment rate continuing to go down—which is a good thing—but when you're on that line and drop below 12.5%, as one area in my constituency did, and the number of hours went up by 40 hours, or something like that, I can tell you that it put an unbelievable amount of stress on an entire community, and I don't just mean a geographical community. A lot of people from this area didn't know where they were going to get the 40 hours in order to make that happen. People would have been forced to leave the community, to leave their kids behind, whatever, to try to make those additional arrangements.
I fully support this amendment, and I would hope the committee would reconsider this, because this will have an impact on those communities that most need it.